Apparatus for handling strands



Nov. 4, 1941. B. EDELMAN 2,261,349

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING STRANDS Filed Jan. 15, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet lllvvslvme B- [DEL MA N ZR AW ATTORNEY Novf4, 1941.

B. EDELMAN APPARATUS FOR HANDLING STRANDS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fild Jan. 15,1940 FIG. 2

INVENTOI? B. EDELMAN A TTOR/VE) FIG. 4

Nova 1941- B. EDELMAN 2,261,349

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING STRANDS Filed Jan. 13, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 3Patented Nov. 4, 1941 APPARATUS FOR HANDLING STRANDS Beril Edclman,Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, NewYork, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application January 13, 1940,Serial No. 313,702

16 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for handling strands, and moreparticularly to apparatus for knitting a cover or sheath of textilestrands on an electrical conductor strand.

In the manufacture of certain types of insulated electrical conductors,e. g. the conductor cords used in connection with telephone instruments,switchboards and the like, it is highly desirable to have the cords asflexible and durable under repeated flexure and torsion as possible.

An object of the present invention is to provide an eflicient, practicaland expeditious magnetically actuated knitting apparatus.

One embodiment of the invention contemplates a knitting machine having ahollow rotatable 'car rier supporting a plurality of needles or threadengaging elements in a predetermined spaced relation about a corepassing therethrough, stationary strand supply and guide means to feedstrands to be knitted about the core to the me dles, and magneticallyactuated means to actuate the needles in predetermined sequence.

()ther objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdetailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein Fig. l is a fragmentary elevational view of a portionof a knitting machine illustrating the invention, portions thereof beingshown in section;

Fig. 2 is a horizontalsectional view taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1,portions thereof being broken away; 1

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of a portion of the magneticcontrolling means; and

Fig. 4 is a developed, radially panoramic view toward the axis on theline 4-4 of Fig. 3, with the needles and needle slots omitted, thevertical dimension being exaggerated.

The embodiment herein disclosed comprises a circular knitting machine ofgenerally conventional construction of which only sufficient is shown inthe drawings to enable a clear undertanding of the novelty embodying theinvention. There is shown a stationary base In apertured to rotatablyreceive a hollow shaft II, the shaft having fixed to its lower end abevelled gear l2 intermeshing a bevelled gear H of a power shaft l4driven by any suitable power means (not shown). Within the hollow shaftII is disposed a rotatable carrier I] which in the present embodiment ofthe invention may be termed a needle carrier, as it has suitablelongitudinally extending slots I8 equally spaced about its periphery toreceive and guide thread engaging elements or needles 20. The presentform of needles in their respective slots. has an annular flange 26receivable in an offset the invention was designed to knit a textilecovor upon a relatively small core, which, necessitates positioning thethread engaging ends of the needles in close relationship to the axis ofthe carrier through which the strand core, indicated at 22, passesduring the knitting operation. The needles 20 are of the conventionaltype having a hooked head or tip 23 at the top with a pivoted latch 24and having a laterally projecting portion or lug 25 formed in its lowerportion. In order to position the heads of the needles more closely tothe center or axis of the carrier H the needles are bent as illustratedin Fig. 1 and the grooves or slots l8 are cut more deeply at the upperportion of the carrier to allow free reciprocatory movement of the Thecarrier l1 portion in the upper end of the hollow shaft H, where it issecurely held against movement rel- I ative to the shaft by a cap 21removably secured to the shaft through a threaded connection.

Removably secured to the projection 25 of each needle'is a combinationmagnetic armature and piston cylindrical in general contour and slidablydisposed in a guide bore or cylinder 3| of a controlling unit 32. Thecarrier l1 and the unit 32 may be considered as one element,

as they are fixed to each other as' described hereinafter. The number ofneedles may vary depending upon the size of the core to be covered andupon the type of knitted sheath to be applied to the core but in thepresent embodiment there are shown nine needles. Therefore, in thisembodiment ninev bores or cylinders 3| are disposed in circularformation as illustrated in Fig. 2, with their circumferences adjacentto a central aperture 33 for receiving the carrier H. The unit is lockedto and supported on the carrier by oneor more keys 34. Each end of theunit is covered by a fiat annulus or ring 35 or 36 respectively. Eachring is formed with a plurality of small apertures or ports 31 or 38communicating with the bores 3|. Screws 39 secure the rings to the unit.

Annular supports 40 and 4| are attached to suitable extensions of thebase III by screws 50 and 5| passing through arcuate slots in thesupports. so that these are rotatably adjustable on the base about theprincipal axis. These annular supports are, respectively. above andbelow the units 32 and carry pluralities of arcuate magnet members 42and 43, encircling the carrier I! and having their faces nearest therings 35 and 36 spaced a little therefrom. Each of the magnets 42 and 43is centrally recessed on the face next to the rings 35 and 36, as shownin Fig. 4, to provide pole ends.

Pairs of pillars 44 and 45, respectively, secured on the supports 40 and4| outside of the magnets 32 and #33, carry flat annuli or rings 46 and41 secured thereto by bolts 48 and 49 passing through arcuate slots inthe rings, so that the rings are rotatably adjustable on the pillars.

In the particular apparatus disclosed. there are four of the magnets 42and four of the ma nets 43. In each set, the magnets are spaced apart attheir ends. The ring 46 carries four, radially inwardly extending, flat,tapered valve arms 52, secured thereto by screws 54, and positioned,respectively, in alternation with the magnets with their irmer endsresting and slidable on the outer face of the ring 35 to open and closethe apertures 31. Similarly valve arms 53 are secured to the ring 41 byscrews 55 to open and close the apertures 38.

The members 30, 42 and 43 are made of magnetic material of highretentivity, for example of an alloy comprising about 12% aluminum, 20%nickel, cobalt and the balance iron, and have been permanentlymagnetized to have magnetic poles as shown in Fig. 4. The carrier I! andunit 32 are made of a suitable aluminum alloy; and the rings 35 and 36,screws 39, supports 40 and 4|, pillars 44 and 45, rings 46 and 41, bolts48 and 49, screws 50 and 5|, valves 52 and 53, and screws 54 and 55 aremade of suitable brass, bronze or the like alloys.

In view of the fact that there are four active positions to move theneedles upwardly in this embodiment of the invention, four strands 60 ofsuitable material such as textile are supplied from any desired source(not shown) and directed around sheaves 6| rotatably mounted upon singleor separate pins of a bracket 62 supported by a rod 63 extendingupwardly from the base l0.

The rod 63 with a similar rod (not shown) supports a horizontallyextending cross member 64, the center portion of which is apertured torigidly hold a guide sleeve 65 through which the core 22 passes.Adjustably mounted upon the sleeve 65 beneath the bar 64 is fixed abracket 63 grooved to receive strand guides 69 held in place by setscrews 10 and apertured at their lower ends for the passage of thestrands 60 therethrough. The strand guides 69 are positioned so as toenable the needles to engage the strands during the actuation of theneedles.

In operation, the shaft l4 and gear l3 are thought of as being driven incounterclockwise rotation as seen from the right in Fig. 1. The gear l2then drives the carrier l1 counterclockwise as seen in Fig. 2; and, thecarrier [1 having the unit 32 keyed thereto, the unit 32 and its closurerings 35 and 36 as well as the armature-pistons 30 housed therein, areall revolved in synchronism with the carrier.

In Fig. 4, therefore, elements 35, 32 and 36, numbered at the right sideof the figure, move to the right as indicated by the bracket and arrow;

while all the other parts shown in this figure are stationary. In theparticular machine disclosed herein as an illustrative embodiment of theinvention, there are nine needles in the carrier I! and four knittingpositions. Hence there are nine armature-pistons, one for each needle,in the unit 32, and four pairs of opposed driving magnets 42, 33. Fig. 4shows the instantaneous relative positions of the nine magnetic pistons,when the machine is in the instantaneous phase of its operation selectedfor all the figures. The piston at VI has Just completed a downwardstroke and is momentarily stationary, so far as vertical motion isconcerned, its downward inertial energy having been absorbed bycompressing air below it in the cylinder, the port 33 having been closeda little by the valve arm 53. Magnetically the piston is substantiallybalanced between the attraction of the N pole of the magnet 43 which itis just leaving, and the repulsion of the S pole of the magnet 43 whichit is just approaching. A moment later, the'piston has left theattractive field of the N pole and entered the repulsive field 01' thenext S pole and starts up. This start is aided by the compressed airuntil the port 38 is carried away from the arm 53; and the weakeningdrive of the repelling S pole as the distance from it to the pistonincreases is compensated by the increasing drive of the attracting Spole vertically opposite. At VII, the next piston is shown nearing thetop of its upward stroke. Thus the nine pistons shown from I to IXillustrate not only the relative positions of the nine pistons at agiven instant, but also illustrate nine consecutive positions of any onepiston at nine equally spaced moments of one revolution of the unit 32.

In Fig. 4, the cooperating poles of the opposed driving magnets areshown in vertical alignment, the ports of the cylinders are shown incentral alignment with the cylinders, and the valve arms are shown in aspecific location between the driving magnets. This specific arrangementof these parts corresponds to one particular speed of i0- tation of thecarrier, and will require modification if the carrier is to be driveneither faster or slower than that speed. Hence the two rings 40 and 4|are angularly adjustable about the axis of the machine, eachindependently of any other element, to shift the driving magnets 42 or43 or both, as may be necessary. The rings 46 and 41 are similarlyindependently adjustable to shift the valve arms angularly also.Furthermore, the screws 39 which hold the cylinder closure rings 35 and36 on the unit 32 may pass through arcuate slots in the rings, ifnecessary, so that the ports of the cylinders may be shifted adjustablywith respect to the cylinders.

For simplicity of disclosure and drawing, the illustrative embodimentshows the piston-armature and driving magnets as permanent magnets ofhigh retentivity magnetic alloy. For some purposes, particularly whereit may be desired to have the magnetic driving forces adjustable, it maybe preferred to use electromagnetic instead of permanent magnets forthese elements. It is thought that the details of such a modificationare too obvious to need explicit detailed illustration and description.However, in the appended claims the words magnet and magnetic are notintended to be limited to permanent magnets but to include any suitableelement having an appropriate magnetic field for its purpose andoperation, whether permanent magnet, electromagnet or solenoid. Theembodiment disclosed and described is illustrative and may be modifiedand departed from in various ways without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as pointed out in and limited only by theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a knitting apparatus, a movable strand engaging element, amagnetic armature for the element, and pneumatic means to retard thearmature at the end of a stroke.

2. In a knitting apparatus, a movable strand engaging element, amagnetic armature for the element, and pneumatic means to accelerate thearmature at the beginning of a stroke. a

3. In a knitting apparatus, a movable strand engaging element, magneticmeans to move the element, and pneumatic means to assist the magneticmeans to reverse the motion of the element.

4. In a knitting apparatus, a plurality of movable strand engagingelements, a movable carrier therefor, and magnetic means controlled bythe movement of the carrier to move the elements.

5. In a knitting apparatus, a rotatable carrier, a plurality of strandengaging elements movable therewith and reciprocable therein, a magneticarmature in the carrier for each element, and magnetic means to actuatethe armatures in turn to reciprocate the elements upon rotation of thecarrier.

6. In a knitting apparatus, a movable strand engaging element, arotatable carrier therefor, and magnetic means controlled by therotation of the carrier to move the element.

7. In a knitting apparatus, a movable strand engaging element, arotatable carrier therefor, and magnetic means controlled by therotation of the carrierto move the element at predetermined poistionsduring the rotation of the carrier.

8. In a knitting apparatus, a movable strand engaging element, acombined piston-armature therefor, a member having a cylinder for thepiston-armature, magnetic means to reciprocate the piston-armature inthe cylinder, and valve means to pneumatically retard and accelerate themotion of the piston-armature during reversals thereof.

9. In a knitting apparatus, a plurality of movable strand engagingelements, a combined piston-armature for each element, a member having acylinder for each piston-armature, magnetic means to reciprocate thepiston-armature in sequence, and valve means to pneumatically retard andaccelerate the motion of each piston-arma-' ture during reversalsthereof.

10. In a knitting apparatus, a rotatable generally cylindrical carrier,a plurality of needles rotatable with and reciprocable in the carrier, apiston-armature connected to each needle to reciprocate the same, anannular member rotatable with the carrier and having a cylinder for eachpiston-armature, and stationary magnets at the ends of the cylinders toreciprocate the piston-armatures in the cylinders and therebyreciprocate the needles.

11. In a knitting apparatus, a rotatable gener- I ally cylindricalcarrier, a plurality of needles rotatable with and reciprocable in thecarrier, a piston-armature connected to each needle to reciprocate thesame, an annular member rotatable with the carrier and having a cylinderfor each piston-armature,stationary magnets at the ends of the cylindersto reciprocate the piston-armatures in the cylinders and therebyreciprocate the needles, and valve means to pneumatically retard andaccelerate the motion of each piston-armature during reversals thereof.

12. In a knitting apparatus, a rotatable generally cylindrical carrier,a plurality of needles rotatable with and reciprocable in the carrier,8. piston-armature connected to each needle to reciprocate the same, anannular member rotatable with the carrier and having a cylinder for eachpiston-armature, and adjustably stationary magnets at the ends of thecylinders to reciprocate the piston-armatures in the cylinders andthereby reciprocate the needles, the magnets bein angularly adjustableabout the axis of the annular member.

13. In a knitting apparatus, a rotatable generally cylindrical carrier,a plurality of needles rotatable with and reciprocable in the carrier,8. piston-armature connected to each needle to reciprocate the same, anannular member rotatable with the carrier and having a cylinder for eachpiston-armature, adjustably stationary magnets at the ends of thecylinders to reciprocate the piston-armatures in the cylinders andthereby reciprocate the needles, the magnets being angularly adjustableabout the axis of the annular member, and valve means to pneumaticallyretard and accelerate the motion of each pistonarmature during reversalsthereof.

14. In a knitting apparatus, a rotatable generally cylindrical carrier,a plurality of needles rotatable with and reciprocable in the carrier, apiston-armature connected to each needle to reciprocate the same, anannular member rotatable with the carrier and having a cylinder for eachpiston-armature, stationary magnets at the ends of the cylinders toreciprocate the piston-armatures in the cylinders and therebyreciprocate the needles, and adjustably stationary valve means topneumatically retard and accelerate the motion of each piston-armatureduring reversals thereof, the valve means being angularly adjustableabout the axis of the annular member.

15. In a knitting apparatus, a rotatable generally cylindrical carrier,a plurality of needles rotatable with and reciprocable in the carrier,a. piston-armature connected to each needle to, reciprocate the same, anannular member rotatable with the carrier and having a cylinder for eachpiston-armature, adjustably stationary magnets at the ends of thecylinders to reciprocate the piston-armatures in the cylinders andthereby reciprocate the needles, the magnets being angularly adjustableabout the axis of the annular member, and adjustably'rstationary valvemeans to pneumatically retard and accelerate the motion of eachpiston-armature during reversals thereof, the valve means beingangularly adjustable about the axis of the annular member.

16. In a knitting apparatus, a movable strand engaging element, amagnetic armature for the element, and fluid actuated means to retardthe armature at the end of a stroke.

BERIL EDELMAN.

